Vacuum cleaner



Nova E5, 1949 G. E. LQFGREN VACUUM CLEANER Filed July 1s, 1945 Patented Nov. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VACUUM CLEANER Gustaf E. Lofgren, Riverside, Conn., assignor to Electrolux Corporation, Old Greenwich, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application July 18, 1945, Serial No. 605,7 78

(Cl. 18S-35) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and is particularly concerned with problems of dirt and dust collection and disposal in connection therewith.

One persistently diflicult problem in the art of vacuum cleaning is that of dirt disposal. Vacuum cleaners of both the bag-on-handle type and the tank type, as now in common use, require the removal of the dust collecting bag from the machine and the emptying of the dirt therefrom at periodica1 intervals. No commercially successful means has yet been devised by which this tedious and unpleasant task may be avoided. In both types of cleaners, the disconnection of the bag from the cleaner and the transportation of the bag to the place of linal disposal as well as the emptying operation are not only diiiicult and tedious but the operator is rendered'liable to contamination by the dirt and dust accumulated by the bag during such manipulations.

It is among the prime objects of the present invention to provide novel and improved means whereby the discharge of accumulated dirt from the vacuum cleaner may be provided for with a minimum of diiiculty and labor and with a minimum of liability with respect to soiling of the operator.

Further object of the invention is to provide a vacuum cleaner having mechanical means readily operated to compress the accumulated ldirt thereof into a conveniently dischargeable container.

Still further object of the invention is to provide a tank type vacuum cleaner having means associated therewith for removing accumulated dirt thereof Without requiring the removal of the dirt collecting fabric.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved vacuum cleaner assembly which embodies -several advantageous features in a single combined structure which is both readily operated, controlled and well suited to the demands of economic manufacture.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a vacuum cleaner having a dust receiving compartment which may be periodically cleared of foreign matter without the necessity of discharging the matter from the casing, thusvthe arrangement is such that during the normal cleaning operations the cleaning operation may be temporarily discontinued, the screen vibrated to loosen accumulated dirt and the dust chamber emptied so as to maintain maximum cleaning efficiency without the necessity of removing accumulated dirt from a dirt receptacle into which 2 it has been compressed by the chamber ejecting means.

Numerous other features and objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specication when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the present inventive concept;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of that form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 of that figure;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horiozntal longitudinal section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken ony the line 4 4 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

The present embodiment of the invention is shown as applied to tank type vacuum cleaners which are characterized by the provision of a suitable housing within which is mounted a motor-fan assembly in combination with a fabric dust screening member. The structural embodiment of the present inventive concept is shown as provided with means by which suction may be diverted from flowing through the screen and simultaneously therewith the screen may be agi- 'tated to dislodge clinging dirt therefrom. The

primary inventive concept may be defined as the provision of a reciprocable ram mounted for movement through a dust receiving chamber beneath the screen in such manner as to eject dirt from the chamber and compress the same into an associated removable receptacle. In the form of the invention here shown the ram i-s conveniently actuated by a foot treadle and the air which is drawn through the apparatus by the motor is admitted under the screen by a passageway extending through the ram structure. The full inventive concept also embraces the entire structural arrangement and the combination by which there is provided an agitator in conjunction with the ram and removable receptacle.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the herein disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a casing I0 which is generally rectangular in coniiguration. In the casing I0, there is disposed a motor-fan unit Il, the circuit to which may be suitably controlled by a, switch actuator l2, current being supplied thereto from la conductor i3 which is-mounted upon a cord reel lll disposed within a compartment l5 located beneath the motor. Suitable means, vpreferably of a resilient nature, are provided to normally wind thezconductor upon the reel so as to eliminate the neces-sity of manually winding or otherwise disposing of the conductor externally of the machine when the device is not in operation. l

The motor-fan unit, which is preferably resiliently mounted Within the casing I by means of a supporting gasket I6, is provided with a forwardly extending casting I'I which is centrally apertured'ito admit air therethrough and tothe unit. AnV air filter I8 is provided to filter from Ythe air any fine dust particles which may have penetrated the interstices of the primary filterV screen. Air which is so drawn throughthe runit is discharged to the atmosphere through a'suitable exhaust opening ISfcentrally located inthe rear end of the casing above Lthecord-reeLcom-f."

partment.

A motor shaft 20 extends forwardly from the motor and through the filter I8 and is provided within a portion of the casting I'I with aY-worm 2I cooperating with a worm gear 22 which, through 1era' clutch mechanism4 23,'y selectively drives a gear 24 which, by an intermediate pinion 25,= rotates zia gear 26 which is mounted upon a shaft 27, which shaft also carries an eccentric-2.8 anda counterf :balance-weight 29. Eccentric 28 is mounted with-1 in ra" ring 38 whereby rotation of the eccentric will @impart oscillatory'vibration to the dust `collecting screen supportedfby the'ring as hereinafter 'defzscribed. "The cluteh 23-is adapted to'be engaged rfso as to'transmitrotation -from the`shaft 20Y t0 the shaft 21 by the application of foot pressure to aloutton 3I which isnormally maintained in raised position by'aspringl As shown in Fig. 3 1 4, button' 3 I islmounted upon a transverse "actuator bar 33 having a depending'clutch actuating f'projection #34.11 Y The-f ends 35fofthe bar engage arms 36 of pivotally mounted hinges 3l 4towhich :ff are attached-2- vent-'f doors 38 .normally covering ventilapertures infthe'casing'IU: vThe projection a 34 bears against'theupper-end.of a clutch pin-39` which is normally-urged upwardly-against-the :aprojection 34-bythe-spring InV andrwhi'ch is. con- Y tfnectecl to the-:gearif'24 forrotation' therewith-by f-faxtransverse pln:4I. AThe Vclutch pin 39 also-carries a .hub 42 t'which/has arr-projection '43 which, -iawhen-v.depressed;v engages a' pin 44. mounted in a driving n clutch s hub 45f which yin Aturn is -mounted .upon vand rotat'edbya-shaft 46 `'carried by lthe s lworm gear 22.

`; Fromxthis construction itfwill be seen thatupon edepression `oft the/.,button'l, thefvent doors-'38 wfwillbe opened .to permitnair to npass directlyfto 1' the motor'fanL-unit H from theatmosphere, thus --fcuttingoif suctionrthrough t-he screen; and at the -^isame-ytime the clutch will-be engaged tocausero tation to 'the' shaft 2'I 'and itseccentric 28,- which 4 rotation'lwill yimpart the fdesired vibration to the l `dust-'screen'.

The screen preferably used-in the present confstruction-is` ofthe rreentrant-type comprising a4 ffpairiof s'ubstantiallyconcentric` frustoconi'cal secti'ons,rthe outerand larger section 50-having its '-.iring 52. :Theuppe'rfor-smaller end 'of the' section l) ,is securedfby band f 5 I A'to memberBIl' from whichVA` the` lsmaller or 'inner section` 53 extends downwardly and beneath ajplate 54'finfwhichthe l E' 'shaft'Z'I' has a'bearinga'sat 55`tension applied'to f-zther screen 'during-its application beingV such as to `-retain'the memberk 54 rvagainst'the shaft21.' By thisconstructionfit willbeseen that when the eccentric 28 on" shaft Z'I'imparts bodilyf rotary movement tothe member -3U,`V suchV movement i .will'cause a vigorousvibra'tion' of both sections-of -fthe screen-3v and 'since vsuch vibration' isrimparted 4 only when the button 3| is depressed and thus only when the doors 38 are open, accumulated and clinging dust will be shaken from the screen. It is important to note that the doors are open 5 during the shaking operation since otherwise air would be continuously drawn through the screen during its vibration and it has been found that in such an event the vibration willnotbe effective in loosening adhering dirt.

Beneath the inlet ring 52 there is provided a Jr dust receiving chamber 55, the rear end of which imunder the cord reel I4 is open as indicated at 6I and removably receives thereover a removable '1,1 dustireceptacle 62,.- the open mouth of which is ,15P normally sealed against a gasket 63 when the receptacle is in position. The receptacle is retained l in such position and sealed against the gasket 63 by a latching mechanism including pairs of paralfllelogram arms 64 and 65. The arms 64 are pivoted as at 66 in the Abrackets 6'! secured to the v -rearfwall" of the-machineand the arms 65 are .simila rly 'pivoted `as at 68. The arms 65v carry ^with them companion arms 69- to 'whichn are applied clamping rollers 10. The arms 64 and- 65 2'5-l areL joined at..their free lends by a handle arm 'II v Y which extends beyond thefarms 65 to provide an actuating handle -12 vwhich'incooperation-*with the recesses .13 in thereceptacle 62fpermits lmanipulaton of the handle armtofs'wing thearms 64 and 65 outwardly-to release Athe clamping-members IIl)- and permitting removal-of the receptacle.

At least one of thevarms'65 is 'further Iprovided `with aY projection-"14- which limits the pivotal movement of the arms 64 and 65.

MAs shown in Fig. 2,l the bottomwall of the casing I0 `terminates at the openingfEI of the dust lreceiv- 1 ing'chamber 60; and from'this point rearwardly thecasing is openat v`the bottom, theY lowermost permanent Wall at thisplace being that between fic the motor-fanrunit II and the vcord reel I Il. In order to remove the receptacle 62, the cleaner is rstood' upv-on its exhausty end'and the handleA l2 pulled outwardly and downwardly so asto pivot f the a-rms'-64,' 65 and :68 counterclockwise. This lfmovesthe rollers 'I0' away from `the receptacle 62,

-thus permitting the latten: tof-be' moved-V downwardly a sufficient distance for its upper. end to clear the openend 6 Ifofchambert. Thereafter, the `receptacle' 62 may-be movedioutwardly from between the sidewalls offthecasing- I !l,-;the` 'handle =12-havingf-beenV moved .downwardly .far enough, before projection 'I4 contacts arm 64'topermit the bottom `vof .the recepta'cle'to clear the handle. .The receptacle may then be emptied and replaced, Y .the handle 'I2 being moved upwardly and inwardly Vto cause the rollers to vbear against the closed end of the receptacle to thusforce theopen end against'the gasket 63.

^Within"the opposite or Lforward end of the 'fchamber 62 isV mounted a combined inlet vconduit and'ram, `afperpendicular end 'wall "I5 of which constitutes theV ram surface;` `packing material 'I6 being providedionzthe sides and bottoms 'theref of to seal-the-isame. Forwardly 'of'.thewall l5 'the member is '.providedwith'af'downwardly in- "clinedand forwardly extending air .conduit i 'Il fwhich encircles affixed' airinlet'conduit v'f8 which Mcommunicates`r with a" suction hose'receiving lixture 19. vPacking 80 is 'provided between the con- 701^duits '11. and `I8*torpreventllatir leakage therebei" 'tween andtoppacking element 8| isprovided'to Nseal theinner "end of. the conduit 'I1 byengagement'with the top wall' 82 of thislunit.

Vt Aszindicated morelparticularlyi'fFigs. 2f and 5 and air inlet conduit 11 as well as the forwardly extending side walls constitutes a single unit which is guided for reciprocating movement through the chamber 60 by the engagement of its packing material 'I6 with the walls of the chamber 60 and by the encirclement of the conduit 'Vl over the fixed air inlet 18.

In the normal operation of the cleaner it will be seen that with the motor operating and a suction hose and cleaner nozzle applied to the fixture 19, air will be drawn in through the tube 18 and conduit 'I1 and will thus be drawn through the screen sections 50 and 53 and exhausted through the motor and exhaust outlet I9. Heavy dirt particles entrapped by the inow of air will be prevented from passing through the screen and will drop downwardly in front of the ram surface 'l5 into the chamber 8D. Some lighter particles of dust and dirt may cling to the screen until such time as the screen is vibrated and the air suction bypassed to the motor through the doors 38, at which time such particles will also drop into the compartment in front of the ram. It will be noted that the air which is admitted through conduit l1 is directed upwardly and away from chamber 60, whereby there is a minimum disturbance of the air in this chamber so that agitation of dust already therein is avoided.

For actuating the ram, the upper portion of kthe front of the casing is formed to provide a pair of parallel walls 85 between which extend a ram actuating shaft 86 to which is attached a foot pedal 81, the pedal being normally retained in raised position and the shaft urged in clockwise direction by a coil spring 88 which engages a hook 89 depending from the lower side of the pedal 87. Within the side members 85 and attached to the ends of the shaft 85 which extend therein is a pair of ram actuating cranks 9D, each of which is connected by links 9| to the side wall of the ram and inlet unit as indicated at 92. From this construction it will be seen that in normal operation the parts are as shown in Fig, 2 with the foot pedal raised and the ram in its most forward position. When it is desired to discharge the accumulated dirt, the button 3| is i-lrst depressed whereby accumulated dust is shaken from the screen into the chamber 6l] together with such heavy particles which have already dropped into it by gravity. After the desired shaking, the motor l l is preferably deenergized by manipulation of the switch l2 and thereafter the operators foot is applied to the pedal 8l' thus rocking shaft 85 in counter-clockwise direction against the tension of spring 88. Such rocking movement of shaft 8G pivots cranks 90, their lower ends moving in an arcuate path between walls 85, thus thrusting links 9| towards the rear of the device. Through the cranks 90 and links 9i the ram is thus moved longitudinally through the chamber 60 forcing the accumulated dirt out the open end 6l and into the receptacle 62 where it is compressed. Pressure may then be relieved from the pedal 3'! and the handle 12 manipulated to release the container 52 which may then be removed, emptied and subsequently reapplied, as previously described.

lrom a consideration of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel and improved cleaner which in combination with cord reel, motor switch, air by-pass, and screen vibrator provided means for clearing the dust compartment and thrusting the dust into a removable dirt receptacle, it being understood that the compartment may be cleared many .times and the screen vibrated many times before it is necessary to remove the receptacle in which the dirt may be compressed by the repeated operations of the ram.

It will be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited to the various structural features here shown by way of illustration and that numerous changes and modifications thereof may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or scope of the invention as outlined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l1. In a vacuum cleaner, means for separating entrained dirt from air, means forming a chamber for receiving the separated dirt, a removable receptacle communicating with said chamber, and a ram reciprocable within said chamber, said ram having a cross-section conforming substantially to the cross-section of said chamber whereby reciprocation of the ram discharges dirt from the chamber into said receptacle.

2. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means in said casing for separating entrained dirt from air, said casing including walls forming a chamber for receiving the separated dirt, the upper wall of said chamber being formed with an inlet opening, said walls defining an outlet opening at one end of said chamber, a removable receptacle having an opening communicating with said outlet opening, and a ram horizontally reciprocable within said compartment towards and away from said outlet opening, said ram having a crosssection conforming substantially to the crosssection of said chamber whereby movement of the ram towards said outlet opening discharges dirt therethrough and into said receptacle.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, means for separating entrained dirt from air, means forming a chamber for receiving the separated dirt, a removable receptacle communicating with said chamber, a ram reciprocable within said chamber, and manually operable means for reciprocating said ram, said ram having a cross-section conforming substantially to the cross-section of said chamber whereby a single reciprocation of said ram discharges substantially all of the dirt from the chamber into said receptacle.

4. In a vacuum cleaner, means for separating entrained dirt from air, means forming a chamber for receiving the separated dirt, a removable receptacle communicating with said chamber, a ram reciprocable within said chamber towards and away from said receptacle, manually operable means for moving said ram towards said receptacle, and resilient means for returning said ram, said ram having a cross-section conforming substantially to the cross-section of said chamber whereby a single movement of the ram towards said receptacle discharges substantially all of the dirt from the chamber into said receptacle.

5. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means in said casing for separating entrained dirt from air, means forming a chamber for receiving the separated dirt, a removable receptacle communicating with said chamber, a ram reciprocable within said chamber for discharging dirt therefrom into said receptacle, an inlet conduit carried by said casing and extending thereinto, and a conduit fixed to said ram and telescopically connected to the first-mentioned conduit whereby communication between said conduits is maintained during reciprocation of said ram and the conduit fixed thereto.

6. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing, means in said casing *.ior-l.separatingientrained from, air; means forming-achamber ffor receiving the-separatedl dir-t, a removablereeeptaole communicating with said chamber, a ram reciprocalble vwithin said chamber vfor. discharging .dirt therefrom into saidlreceptac1e','a footgpedaliforreciprocating said ram,fan-;in1et conduitacarried bysaidcasing and extendingthereinto, and a conduit fixed to said ramfand telescopicaliy'- connected to the rstmentionedr conduit whereby :communication .between said conduits is maintainedduring reciprocation of said ram and the conduit xed thereto.

'Zt'n a vacuum` cleaner,V a casing havingt an inletand an'. outlet, means for producing ow ofQairthrough said casing, va fabric dust separating-member disposed`in the-path of owof air through said casing, means for shaking said fabric twdislodgedirt therefrom,- said casing including walls;y forming l-a chamber beneath said dust separatingmember for receiving dirt, a removable receptacle communicating with said chamber, a

ram-reciprocab1ewithin; said chamber for dis-f charging, dirt therefrom; into: said ,receptac1ea conduit`- carried` byrfsaid casing and extending thereinto f from said inlet, anda conduit xed;to said ramand having; one endf telescopicallyconnected to the rst-mentionedY conduit whereby communication between said-` conduits is main'- tained during reciprocation of said ram andthe conduitV fixed thereto,;the opposite end Vof. the second-mentioned conduit: being directed vupwardly and away from said chamber.-

GUSTAF I.|OF(`5\RE1\T` REFERENCES CITED 1 The following references are of record in the le of'this patent:

UNITED `STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20 A2,283,836 White` May 19, 1942 2,397,980 Petri Apr. 9, 1946 

